Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes - Hardcover

by Thomas Rainer (Author), Claudia West (Author)

"As practical as it is poetic. . . . an optimistic call to action." --Chicago Tribune

Over time, with industrialization and urban sprawl, we have driven nature out of our neighborhoods and cities. But we can invite it back by designing landscapes that look and function more like they do in the wild: robust, diverse, and visually harmonious. Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West is an inspiring call to action dedicated to the idea of a new nature--a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated--that can flourish in our cities and suburbs. This is both a post-wild manifesto and practical guide that describes how to incorporate and layer plants into plant communities to create an environment that is reflective of natural systems and thrives within our built world.

Back Jacket

The future of planting design. This groundbreaking guide presents a powerful alternative to traditional horticulture: designed plantings that function like naturally occurring plant communities. Thomas Rainer and Claudia West, two leading voices in ecological landscape design, reveal how plants fit together in nature and how to use this knowledge to create landscapes that are resilient, beautiful, and diverse. As practical as it is inspiring, this book is an optimistic manifesto for the post-wild world of planting design.

Author Biography

Thomas Rainer is a registered landscape architect, teacher, and writer. He has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and The New York Botanical Garden. His work has been featured in the the New York Times, Landscape Architecture Magazine, and Home + Design. He is a principal for the landscape architectural firm Rhodeside and Harwell, teaches planting design for the George Washington University, and writer at the award-winning site Grounded Design.
Claudia West is the ecological sales manager at North Creek Nurseries, a wholesale perennial grower in Landenberg, Pennsylvania. She holds a master's degree of landscape architecture and regional planning from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. West is a sought after speaker on topics such as plant community based design and the application of natural color theories to planting design.